We were saddened to hear of the passing of our former midfielder Dennis Bond at the age of 77.
Born in Walthamstow and a Spurs supporter as a youngster, he started his professional career with Watford and made his debut aged 17 under the care of former Spur Ron Burgess, then manager of the Hornets. Dennis became the mainstay of Watford’s side in the Third Division and had made over 100 senior appearances when he made the switch to N17 to join his boyhood club in March 1967.
He became our Legacy Number 468 after coming off the bench to replace Dave Mackay for his Spurs debut against Liverpool on 1 April, 1967, with his first start coming in a 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle United on 2 December that year. Dennis’ best run of games came in the 1969/70 season as he featured 12 times in our colours and opened his goalscoring account with a penalty in a First Division fixture against Everton on 14 March, 1970.
Over the course of his three years at White Hart Lane, Dennis made 27 first team appearances in all competitions, scoring once, while featuring regularly for our reserves, before moving onto Charlton Athletic in October 1970. After becoming a regular during two-and-a-half years with Charlton, he returned to Watford – initially on loan before making the move permanent in July 1973. When he called time on his professional career at the end of the 1977/78 campaign, he had made a total of 301 appearances and netted 42 times for the Hornets.
He finished his playing days in non-league football, featuring for local sides including Boreham Wood, Waltham Abbey and Potters Bar Town and was 55 years old by the time he finally hung up his boots.
The thoughts of everyone at the Club are with Dennis’ friends and family at this impossibly sad time.